Caitlin John LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Caitlin John LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 179.4%, owning 10,994 shares worth approximately $660,000 following an acquisition of 7,059 shares in the first quarter.
• Altria Group recently released quarterly earnings, reporting $1.44 EPS, which exceeded the analysts' consensus estimate of $1.37, along with a revenue of $5.29 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $4.24 and a yield of 6.3%, which reflects an increase from its previous dividend of $1.02.

Caitlin John LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 179.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,994 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,059 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $67.6150 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $68.60. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $61.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.76. The stock has a market cap of $113.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.00.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.